Mr. Food's Blog

The Originators of Quick & Easy Cooking!

  • About
    • Meet Our Team
  • Food & Recipes
    • Appetizers
    • Breakfast
    • Casseroles
    • Diabetic
    • Dinner
    • Slow Cooker
    • Snacks
    • Dessert
  • Free eCookbooks
  • News
  • Tips
  • Giveaways
    • Blog Giveaways
  • MrFood.com

The Grilled Cheese Formula

April 7, 2015 by Brittney 5 Comments

Ah, the grilled cheese sandwich. It’s a classic food that has a history with everyone. For me, a grilled cheese is one of the first things my grandma taught me to cook. I remember melting butter in a heavy skillet on our old electric stove and impatiently flipping my cheese sandwich over and over again until it was golden brown. My grandma told me I needed to have patience when cooking, because everything good comes in time. She made the best grilled cheese sandwiches. Two slices of white bread, two slices of American cheese, a lot of Miracle Whip and I was a happy little girl.

Nowadays, making a grilled cheese has become an art. There are entire restaurant concepts dedicated to the melty sandwich like Ms. Cheezious in Miami, Roxy’s Grilled Cheese in Boston, and The Grilled Cheese Grill in Portland. They see the grilled cheese more like a formula than a recipe, which allows for a lot of creativity. The formula for the perfect grilled cheese consists of a basic structural form and some steps to ensure that it’s perfectly crisp on the outside and gooey in the middle. But other than that, you can make it however you want.

GrilledCheese-Cut-Final

My dinner last night 🙂

This got me thinking, what’s the most important part of a grilled cheese? Surprisingly, I don’t think it’s the cheese. When I think of this classic sandwich I picture brown and toasty bread. I mean, without the bread there’d be no transporting that ooey-gooey cheese to your mouth. Good bread is the foundation to an awesome grilled cheese. Sliced bread is your best bet. It doesn’t matter if it’s white, whole wheat or pumpernickel. Choose whatever you like best. Just make sure it’s not too thick or else the cheese won’t melt, and make sure there aren’t a lot of air bubbles because the cheese will drip out.

good-bad-bread-grilled-cheese

A Good Rye (WildYeastBlog) is a good example of bread to use for a grilled cheese, while this Overnight Ciabatta (WildYeastBlog) is a bad example (however it’d be great for a loaded turkey club!).

Now, let’s talk cheese. The most important thing when choosing a cheese is how melty it is. When making a grilled cheese you’ll want to stay away from dry, crumbly, hard, and over-aged cheeses, because they require higher temperatures to melt and do not melt evenly. This includes parmesan, feta, and goat cheese. Try to choose a higher moisture content cheese because it will melt easier. You can’t go wrong with Cheddar, American, Swiss, Mozzarella, Fontina, Gruyere, or Brie. Oh, and if you do like those harder to melt cheeses just combine a little with an easy to melt cheese, and voila!

Bread-cheese-final

I chose some yummy, bakery made onion bread, deli yellow Vermont Cheddar and provolone cheese.

Once you’ve picked the perfect bread and cheese combination, you’ve gotta get the cooking technique down. This can be hard, since your bread might toast faster than your cheese melts. That’s why it’s important to be patient and cook your sandwich over medium-low heat. Trying to speed the cooking process up will only result in burnt crust. Melt some butter in a skillet and cook your sandwich over medium-low heat, making sure to toast both sides evenly. You might find it helpful to apply light pressure and stir the sandwich around. When it has reached a deep brown color, it’s done! 

grilled-cheese-all

So, those are the basic things needed to complete the grilled cheese formula. Now that you’ve got the bread, cheese, and cooking part down, add anything else you’d like. Just make sure the cheese stays the starring role. All added ingredients should work to complement the cheese, not overpower it (otherwise it’s just a toasted sandwich with cheese). I like to add veggies like avocado, spinach, tomato, and grilled onion. If I feel like I need a more filling meal, I’ll add a little turkey or ham. 

Check out some of these creative recipes for a new-aged grilled cheese sandwich.

Grilled Cheese1

 Balsamic Blueberry Grilled Cheese (Amanda K by the Bay), Caprese-Style Grilled Cheese, Bacon Jam and Avocado Grilled Cheese Sandwich (Closest Cooking), Sweet & Spicy Grilled Cheese Sandwich (Express-O), Baked Potato Grilled Cheese (BS’ in the Kitchen), Lasagna Grilled Cheese (Joy the Baker)

Untitled design

 Avocado & Goat Cheese Grilled Cheese (Rachel Schultz), Spicy Apple Cheddar Grilled Cheese (She Wear Many Hats), The Ultimate Grilled Cheese, Grilled Cheese with Gouda, Roasted Mushrooms and Onions (Two Peas & Their Pod), Hawaiian Grilled Cheese (Dairy4Cook), Parmesan Crusted Pesto Grilled Cheese Sandwich (Two Peas & Their Pod)

I bet all this got you thinking about making a scrumptious grilled cheese sandwich, so I’m wondering…

What will you add to your next grilled cheese?

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Brittney
Latest posts by Brittney (see all)
  • Food-oscopes! What Your Favorite Dessert Says About Your Personality - August 24, 2015
  • Plan the Perfect Picnic + FREE Picnic eCookbook - July 30, 2015
  • How to Make Fluff - July 8, 2015

Filed Under: Food & Recipes Tagged With: Cheese, comfort food recipes, easy, easy dinner recipes, food, Grilled Cheese, mr. food, Quick Dinners, tasty lunch ideas

Comments

  1. pops says

    April 8, 2015 at 1:23 pm

    Brittney!! I just found this web site today. What a wonderful surprise. Your picture is beautiful and I enjoyed reading your comments.
    When are you coming to North Carolina ???
    Granny and I love you and miss you take care
    Love, pops

    Reply
  2. Al Breit says

    April 12, 2015 at 3:58 pm

    We saw a grilled cheese on the Today show and they used Pimentos in the sandwich but we could never find the recipe they used. I think they used either cream cheese or mayo but not sure of it. Could you help us out?

    Reply
  3. Sarah Frei says

    April 14, 2015 at 2:37 am

    Hi,

    Love the recipe. Thank you for sharing this. It would be great if you can share some clean eating recipes. I would like to invite you to my blog (somewhere.li) where I am sharing clean eating recipes with a twist.

    Thanks a lot and keep it up,

    Sarah..

    Reply
  4. Libda says

    September 24, 2015 at 6:45 pm

    gREAT CHOICES FOR TERRIFIC GRILLED CHEESE. mY FAVORITE GRILLED CHEESE, LIKE MY dAD USED TO MAKE, INCLUDES BUTTERED BREAD, SLICED CHEDDAR, MUSTARD AND THINLY SLICED ONIONS, YUM111

    wHEN COOKED ON MEDIUM LOW THE CHEESE MELTS AND THE ONIONS SWEETEN UP AND THE MUSTARD ADDS ZING, i CAN’T IMAGINE A GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICH WITHOUT IT!

    Reply
    • Merly says

      October 2, 2015 at 10:40 am

      That does sound delicious!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Email Email Facebook Twitter Pinterest YouTube Google Plus RSS

Categories

Sweet Treats

The Magic of Peppermint

Spring Fling Ice Cream Cake

How to Make: Spring Fling Ice Cream Cake!

Easy Dinner Idea

Holiday Entertaining: Side Dish Shortcuts They'll Love!

Holiday Entertaining: Side Dish Shortcuts They’ll Love!

Thanksgiving is almost here and Christmas is just around the corner! That means you early planners are already putting together this year's menu. If … [Read More...]

Archives

Slow-Cookin’

Slow Cooker Lasagna

Slow Cooker: Your Own Personal Chef

So why am I crazy about the slow cooker? Let me tell you. There is a stereotype that college students live off of microwave pizza, cereal, and instant … [Read More...]

Tips & Tricks

You Can Do It

Comfy Cozy

Company

Lighten Up

Sweet Tooth

About Mr. Food Advertise on MrFood.com Contact Us FAQ Press Room Keyword Index Special Thanks Today's Recipe Find Us on TV Subscribe Unsubscribe Site Map RSS Bookmark

MR. FOOD TEST KITCHEN, the "Mr. Food Test Kitchen" oval, and OOH IT'S SO GOOD!! are trademarks or registered trademarks of Ginsburg Enterprises Incorporated.
Prime Publishing Food Group
Copyright © 2022 · by Ginsburg Enterprises Incorporated. All Rights Reserved.

Privacy Policy Terms of Service

Copyright © 2022 · Tidy Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in